Teacher Qualifications and Pupil Academic Achievement

Abstract

The present research seeks to investigate if teacher qualifications differ significantly among learners in boarding and in non-boarding schools and if they have significant relationship with academic achievement among Grade 12 learners of the Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. A simple random sample was drawn from the population of 339 schools, comprising of 51 principals, 158 teachers and 290 learners from 51 schools. The instrument used to collect data was the School Environmental Questionnaire (SEQ) to determine whether the school was boarding or non-boarding, along with the qualifications of teachers. The Capricorn District Academic Summary Report of the Grade 12 results collected data on academic achievement. The t-test results showed no significant difference in qualifications of teachers between boarding and non-boarding schools and no significant difference between low and high achieving schools in qualifications of teachers. The conclusion is teacher qualification is not the sole contributor in academic achievement.